as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a self-important businessman who believed his schedule mattered more than anyone else's
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-important
Like Muscle Man, Mixtape follows a self-important, inarticulate mediocrity on the fringe of a minor American metropolis.
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Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
The effort was pointless and self-important and never once determined the Legislature could promote happiness by lowering the cost of living and staying out of people’s lives.
—Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important
Adjective
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But that poem is no smug cliché.—
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Marcello is looking especially smug and evil in this scene for reasons unclear.—
Adjective
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This version of Ryan was arrogant, unable to conceal pride in his accomplishment.—
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So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much.—
Adjective
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South Florida sports history is proud to have been the host for Crump’s barrier-busting history.—
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The Big Ten is marching into the heart of Southern football with a proud swagger, daring any conference to challenge its claim as the power to beat in the College Football Playoff.—
Adjective
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Governments such as those of Spain and Italy demanded in vain the release of several of its nationals.—
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Some tribes in the region that traditionally hold First Salmon feasts to welcome the arrival of spring salmon from the ocean have waited for their catch in vain, forcing them to ask other tribes to donate a fish, Gobin said.—
Adjective
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The attention to amusing detail is evident throughout, from the vainglorious mayor’s ample display of chest fur to the very long wintry outfit Gary De’Snake wears in snowy conditions.—
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All but the most vainglorious architects imagine that their buildings will change in some small way after completion.—
Adjective
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But Grande’s conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity.—
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The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.—
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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